The interview room was packed after the Syracuse women’s lacrosse team’s game against Brown on Wednesday. SU head coach Lisa Miller was forced out of her seat when a fourth Orange player made her way to sit down.

One face was noticeably absent, however – that of junior attack Meghan O’Connell.

‘She’s a bit camera shy,’ said senior midfielder Monica Joines.

Apparently, O’Connell does all of her talking on the field. That was never more apparent than Wednesday.

O’Connell was one of four SU players to notch a hat trick in the No. 17 Orange’s 19-6 victory over the Bears in front of 288 at the Carrier Dome.

O’Connell and Joines paced the Orange (6-2, 1-1 Big East) with four goals apiece. Senior attack Caitlyn Dragon and sophomore midfielder Jill DePetris each scored three goals. But the night belonged to O’Connell. Her four goals and four points were career highs.

‘Meghan had a phenomenal game tonight,’ said SU head coach Lisa Miller. ‘She was wide open I don’t know how many times.’

Opponents probably made the mistake of forgetting about her. With all the attention paid to the leading scoring trio of Joines, Dragon and junior attack Melody Agnew, O’Connell’s offensive contributions got lost in the shuffle.

For the second straight year, O’Connell continues to occupy a relatively quiet yet lurking role in the SU offense. As a sophomore last year, she started each game and finished fifth on the team in scoring with 15 goals. After tonight’s performance, she is fourth on the team with 13 goals. She doesn’t usually shine, yet contributes each game.

‘Meg is just a firecracker all the way around,’ Joines said. ‘Meg has the best shot on the team. I don’t how many times in practice and in games she’ll come in from all angles and finish in the top corner.’

If O’Connell does indeed have the best shot on the team, that only bodes well for the Orange.

The entire offense played its most fluent game of the season. SU reached assistant coach John Battaglino’s goal of at least six players scoring a goal. In fact, eight players in all scored for SU. The Orange moved to 5-0 when Battaglino goes home satisfied.

‘They’re having fun playing together,’ Miller said of the offensive unit. ‘They’re confidence is growing. Everybody was asserting themselves and a balanced attack makes it difficult to defend.’

Only three of SU’s goals were credited with an assist. Time and again, Orange players would take turns beating Brown defenders off the ball.

O’Connell is more of a finisher, though. Two of the three assists came on her goals. Both times Dragon and Agnew, who play primarily behind the net, found O’Connell cutting inside. Once the ball finds her stick, the best shot on the team according to Joines takes over.

Miller also noted O’Connell’s increased presence in the midfield and defensively. A pure scorer during her career – she has only two career assists – O’Connell was active all over the field on Wednesday. So she didn’t have an assist, but she picked up a groundball and intercepted a pass.

‘She is great to play with,’ said freshman midfielder Allison Furstenburg, who started her fifth straight game and scored two goals. ‘She works so hard to get to the ball.’

So not only do opponents have to worry about the freshman Furstenburg playing an increased role, but O’Connell playing at her highest level.

Said Miller: ‘That’s the best Meghan’s played since she’s been here.’

Published on March 30, 2005 at 12:00 pm